\ ale Unh crsity School of ForcstTy TROPICAL WOODS ~ !'<UMllE!l 5 March 1, 1926 The publication ()f CONTENTS Pnut> Notes on New Cabin et Woods from Brazil 1 By KARL SC,HMIEG, President of SchmieA. '.H un~ate & Kotzian1 Inc., New York City Trees of the 'Bayano River Watershed, Panama 4 By H. C. KLUGE, Tropical Forest Engineer, and THE ED)TOR Some Deposits Resembling Lapadiol 13 Cu1Tcnt Literature 15 Yale University School of Fores try TROPICAL WOODS NUMBER 5 !viarch 1, 1926 A technical journal devoted lo thr furtherance of lcnowledgt of tropieal woods andforests and to tbe promotion offorestry in Jhe Tropics. <J'he editor of this publication and the writer of aU articles therein, tbe aulh&r­ ship of which is not otberwiu i11dicaud, is SAMUEL J. REco11.o, Professor of • l Form Products in rate University . Address all communications to /be editor, '105 Prospect Strut, .Vew Haven, Connecticut, U. S. A. NOTES ON NEW CABINET WOODS FROl\1 BRAZIL By KARL SCHMIEC 1 The making of fine furniture calls for not only the best of the standard cabinet woods of the trade, but also a great many of the rarer and lesser known kinds. In the whole course of our manufacture we use about one hundred different kinds of wood, emanating from all parts of the world. Brazil's ' ' contributions in the past have been few, notably Rosewood, Tulipwood, Kingwood, and Pernambuco \\'ood, but these have been long and favorably known. More recently other woods from that country have become available to cabinet makers and some of these are very promising. Following is a 1 President of the firm of Schmieg, Hungate & Kotzian, Inc., designers and cabinet makers, New York City. From the time of his apprenticeship (1886- 89), Mr. Schmieg has been continually engaged in the making of line furniture in Germany, Erigland, and America. He is a student of woods and one of America's foremost authbrities on furniture and cabinet making. T ROPICAL WOODS ~ No. 5 brief account of our exper.ience with Oleo Vermelho, Gon~alo No. 5 TROPICAL WOODS :\Ives, Embuia, and Cordia Wood._ 3 Oleo Vermelho (Mvroxylon toluiferum H.B.K.).-OUr first of natural defects, except some worm holes, but we find that quaintance with this wood was about five years ago. It the darker-colored wood is inclined to warp and crack during acmes from southern and eastern Brazil and is in the form of the seasoning process. In working qualities it is much like co . d r round logs of good size and quite soun , except ior a small English or French Walnut, though tending to dull sharp­ cen cer defect. The wood is rather hard, somewhat more so edged tools more quickly than is the case with European than Cuban \lahogany, and is very firm and strong. It is Walnut. The fine dust seems to contain an irritating principle fragrantly scented and it~ color varies from yellow-orange to which affects some of the workmen. The wood finishes well, purplish-rose. It has a rich figure and the texture suggests has a high luster and a beautiful color. There is a considerable Padauk, only the pores are smaller. When finished, Oleo range in the color, some specimens being light yellow, ap­ Vermelho has a marked resemblance to Cuban Mahogany. proaching Satinwood, others exhibiting various shades of The principal hindrance to its use is the fact that it does not brown and suggesting the darkest Circassian Walnut and respond well to staining and consequently is limited in its very dark Brazilian Rosewood. Since there is a similar varia­ application. tion in weight, it may be that the Embuia wood of the trade is the product of two or three closely related species of Gon~alo Alves (Astronium fraxinifolium Schott).-This trees. is a timber of eastern Brazil which is obtainable in long logs, We are using Embuia where we have ordinarily used 12 to '24 inches in diameter, and very straight and sound. American Walnut. It can take the place also of English, The wood is moderately hard and heavy, is fairly dose in French, Italian, and Circassian Walnut, as it can be selected texture, and stands very well. I t is suitable for cutting into for color to match any of them. It is suitable for reproductions veneers and takes a beautiful polish. I t has a rather pleasing of English period furniture (such as Queen Anne and William stripe and bears some resemblance in figure and texture to and Mary), Italian, Spanish, and also Louis XV and Louis Golden Ebony, or Coromandel, only it is of a warmer tone; XVI French furniture where French Walnut and Beech were the stripes are dark, but not real black. Sometimes the wood used. The wood should have a good future in this country, exhibits a mottled figure and then approaches the Brazilian Rosewood. though there is need of experiments to determine the best methods of overcoming certain minor difficulties in manu­ A few years ago we bought some veneers which were said facturing operations. It is ta-day practically the only wood to be of Gon~alo Alves, but the wood is somewha t different obtainable in large planks so much needed for heavy carved from that just described. It is intermediate between that and work, such as table trusses and shaped chair legs. a kind of Zebra-wood we obtain in London, and is much the 2 Cordia Wood (of the type of Cordia Goeldiana Huber).­ best of the three. It makes beautiful furniture but unfor­ This timber js obtained in the form of lumber of good lengths tu~ately we have not been able to procure add i ti~nal supplies Of It. and widths, though we have not .had any very lar~e planks. The wood it intermediate in density between American Wal­ . Embuia (Necta~dra sp.).-We began using this wood about nut and Chestnut and its texture and figure suggest Elm . six years ago. It 1s a product of southern Brazil where the It is very unifor~ in texture and weight, seasons without trees are said to grow in association with the Parana Pine. difficuJ ty, warps less than most woods, and stands ~ well as The lumber is obtainable in very large planks which are free Mexican Mahogany. It takes glue w~U, and ?emg of a 2 Specimens of these three woods have been examined by the editor and all neutral color, is adapted to almost any ~nd of fi.nish. We are belon~ to the genus dstronium, though it is possible that they are of Central having the best results with a wax fimsh, which does not Amcncan or Venezuelan rather than of Brazilian origin. completely close the pores, and do n.ot recom?1e~d a finish which closes the pores. We are making at this time about TROPICAL WOODS 4 No. 5 TROPICAL WOODS tift}' sets of Cordia .W . oo. .d furniture and are agreeably im- s ssed with its poss1b1hnes. licania platypus (Hemsl.) Fritsch. "Sangre." A very common tree of pr~razi l has a large variety. of timbers, but few have proven general distribution, attaining a diameter of 36 inches and a trunk length of 40 feet. The larger trees arc buttressed. as useful as those just ment10ned. Wood hard and heavy, straight-grained, rather coarse-textured, somewhat splintery, fairly easy to work, of dull brownish color. (Kluge 31, 41; Yale 7144, 7240.) TREES OF THE BAYANO RIVER WATERSHED, ANACARDIACEAE PANAMA dnacardi11m Rbinocarpus DC. "Espave." Judging from the Jogs and During the first half of the year 1924, Mr. H . C. Kluge, of lumber, there are three kinds of" espave," namely, red, yellow, and black. Schenectady, N. Y., was engaged in forest work on the water­ These differences could not be noted in the leaves and fruits. The lumber from this locality appears much superior to that from the Atlantic side, shed of the Bayano River, Panama. Incidental to his regular including the Gatun Lake region. duties he collected for the Yale School of F orestry the leaves, Wood of medium density, rather crosS-grained, fairly coarse-textured, fl owe~ fruits and wood specimens of over 50 different trees. tough and strong, color variable from yellowish to reddish brown. {Kluge 5; The d;termin~t i on s of the botanical material were made by Yale 7119.) Dr. Paul C. Standley, Associate Curator, D ivision of Plants, ARALIACEAE Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. In this collection Sciadodendron o:celsum Gris. "Jobo lagarto." This tree attains large size, trunks 24 inches in diameter and 35 feet long being common. Likely to be are 54 species, representing 48 genera and 26 families. Two confused with the other "jobo" (Spondias). new species have been described by Standley, namely, Wood rather light, firm, coarse-textured, fairly straight-grained, tough, Calderonia Klugei and Bumelia panamensis. of harsh feel, pale brown in color. (Kluge 50; Yale 7249.) The following account embodies the substance of Mr. Kluge's notes and correspondence, and to this material the BICNONIACEAE editor has added short descriptions of the appearance and 'J."ecoma pentapbylla Juss. "Roble." This tree is well distributed, growing quality of the woods. There is a range in density from exceed­ on all kinds of sites. The trunks are usually irregular, but may be free of limbs for 40 feet. The Rowers are pink and very showy. ingly light and soft to very hard and heavy. Classified rather Wood of medium density and texture, straight-grained, easy to work, roughJy, out of 52 woods there are J4 as heavy as hickory light brown with penciling of darker parenchyma on tangential surface.